Stranger Things Season 2 New Plot Is Not For the Faint-Hearted

Netflix’s Stranger Things is one of the biggest cultural phenomena in 2016 and, in four months, the biggest streaming service in the world will release the second season. To keep fans at the edge of their seats, actor David Harbour has revealed where the series will take his character Officer Jim Hopper in Season 2.

A Different Man

Season 2 will premiere in Halloween this year and will take place a year after the events of Season 1. Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) is still suffering from the trauma from being stuck in the Upside Down, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) is still missing after she destroyed the Demogorgon and Officer Hopper has to cover up what happened in Season 1 to protect Will and Joyce (Winona Ryder).

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter via Facebook Live, Harbour revealed that the encounter with the Upside Down and the Demogorgon will significantly change Officer Hopper. The character will have a different arc in Stranger Things Season 2.

“He’s a different man than he was in season one and he gets to go on a different arc,” he explained. “The first season he really sort of discovered why he was dead inside and like how he was finding his way out and he kind of came to life.”

To recall, in the firsts season, it was discovered that Officer Hopper lost his spirit because he was grieving from the death of his daughter in Sarah. But, after the events that transpired in Hawkins, fans might see a more lively version of the character.

The 42-year-old recounted that the local town cop found his bravado in Season 1 and emerged as a hero. He will deal with the repercussions of that in the upcoming season.

“I mean he still has some of his stuff but he has gone on this heroic journey and now sort of the beginning of the [first] episode, we start examining the perils of what it is to be a hero or perhaps the fantasies that you have about yourself and the dangers of that,” the actor shared. “And that subtle arc takes him in a different direction which, I think, is equally satisfying but very, very different.”

Still No Barb

However, producer and director Shawn Levy warned that fans might not like everything they have in story for Stranger Things Season 2. One particular thing that fans have been asking for since the series was renewed for Season 2 is the reappearance of Barb (Shannon Purser), the best friend of Nancy (Natalia Dyer) who was taken to the Upside Down and killed by the creatures that inhabit the nightmare-filled parallel world.

Considering that Will stayed in the Upside Down longer and survived, some thinks that there is a possibility that Barb is still alive. But that is not what creators Matt and Ross Duffer has planned for the second season. “Because you think you want that but you wouldn’t really want that,” Levy commented.

In previous interviews, the Duffer Brothers did assure that the upcoming season will serve justice for Barb.

Darker, Scarier Stranger Things Season 2

The director also confirmed that the sophomore run of the acclaimed sci-fi thriller will be darker and scarier than its predecessor. He warned that none of the major characters are safe; he said bad things could happen to some of the fan-favorites. Moreover, a few good characters might make questionable decisions.

Stranger Things Season 2 will also star Finn Wolfhard as Mike, Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin, Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas, Charlier Heaton as Jonathan and Joe Keery as Steve. The series also added Sean Astin as Bob Newby and Dacre Montgomery as Billy.